INSPIRATION AND WORK ETHIC

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It seems like I can't hold a project for more than a month or so before I totally lose interest. Any ideas?
Tau
RMN sex symbol
3293
Planning and prep usually help when starting something new. That way you know where your going and what to do, etc. As for sticking with it.. Take breaks every now and then from it when you get to a point of suffocation. If you keep coming up with new ideas for other games during your game at hand try incorperating some of those ideas into what your working on.

Only real thing you can do is just try keeping at it, make sure the game your making interests you and that your not just trying to show off or please others with it. Make the game for yourself is kinda what I'm saying as if it's the latter then you'll just end up like the other 80-90% of games advertised over the years.
I'm only now just starting to get my motivation back to work on my project

drastically improving my awful first dungeon helped out alot
Craze
why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar
15150
Don't make epic RPGs.

Seriously. You might suddenly find that you have finished something.

Alternative: play Oblivion/The Sims all day. It is the same as making/completing a game.
http://mm.soldat.pl/?p=203 here's an interesting point of view in such a matter.

tl:dr version: JUST DO IT
author=Craze link=topic=3708.msg74375#msg74375 date=1242010976
Don't make epic RPGs.

Seriously. You might suddenly find that you have finished something.

Alternative: play Oblivion/The Sims all day. It is the same as making/completing a game.
Greatest advice ever.

Or, be prepared to invest 2.5 years.
lol, exactly

I find that the best cure for lack of motivation is to go back and completely redo that one section of your game (usually near the beginning) that has been totally bothering you to no end with its crappiness

at least it worked for me ;D
I think it's probably easier to stay motivated if you have some solid planning and organization down. It's generally easier to start something new than to make sense of something unfinished and stale, which is why most of us keep starting new projects.

I might be completely wrong though, I've never made it pass the pre-production phase with a project. ^_^
author=Relyt link=topic=3708.msg74281#msg74281 date=1241988905
It seems like I can't hold a project for more than a month or so before I totally lose interest. Any ideas?

Pretty much crowing what everyone else here has said:

If you're going to make an epic game, then get organized. Plan, outline, revise, creating a design document, and pace yourself. Also, as Kentona said, prepare to give up two to three years to its development, maybe even more.

Otherwise, make smaller, quicker games, stuff that can be completed in a few hours, and improve your design skills with every game.

Being involved in someone else's project can't hurt either. Sometimes it helps to woke one someone else's creation.

Good luck with all that!
Craze
why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar
15150
I don't plan my games. I find that it only wastes time (hi trance <3 ).
author=Craze link=topic=3708.msg74477#msg74477 date=1242059391
I don't plan my games. I find that it only wastes time (hi trance <3 ).

For some reason, that post made my choke on my lunch. Thanks, Craze! :D
Going along with what everybody else has said, I say be prepared and make sure you want to do what you're planning.

If you find it hard to make something thats very long, then if possible, I suggest breaking it into episodes so you can make one, take a break, then return when you're prepared for the next. This only works when your story can be broken up though (obv).

Also find a source of inpiration for that project in particular, and when you're not sure go to that source. It works for me with FF7 music (yeah yeah I know), since it brings back feelings of nostalgia, and I have feelings of nostalgia for my current project (I planned it at a young age).
There's not necessarily anything wrong with losing interest. It can take a few tries to find a project that you really feel is worth taking all the way. That said, of course, it's helpful to be able to reject useless paths as fast as possible...

My advice, which may not be widely applicable, is to as quickly as possible build to the point where you have something you can enjoy playing. Note that you don't necessarily have to start with the intended beginning of your game. Then if you feel yourself losing interest or are having trouble getting started after not working on it for a while, play the game. That reminds you what you like about it, and helps you notice things that you can still improve, big and little - at least, it tended to work for me.
If it's more an over-abundance of ideas that distracts you from your 'work', take the time to write them down and purge your mind of them. There's nothing more annoying that making a game and having another game idea poking you in the brain at the same time. Unless it's making a game and trying to remember what that brilliant game idea you thought of the other day (and pushed out of your mind) was.

You never know - you may be able to later incorporate some of those ideas into your game.

Also, if you get tired of one aspect out your game, jump ahead to another part. So, if you get tired of mapping, jog it up with a bit of database work, or monster battles or even looking for resources - even if you're using RTP you need some chillin' tunes.

Try acting as your characters would act when talking to someone - a bit of RP really helps you get a feel for your characters and their dialogue.

Do a bit of research on weapons and armour and other items you may have. Consult myths about monsters and gods/goddesses.

Make a few Easter-egg events, mangle a few well-known quotes for NPCs, do a bit of drawing.

Anything to keep it fresh and interesting. If you don't like what you've put in later, you can always just delete it, or make a backup copy to release as a 'Director's cut' after your full game goes platinum. ^.^

Keep a folder of inspirational stuff for you to gawk at every now and then. Grab a few different cave pics that you want your caves to look like, or forests, mountains, towns. Music and sounds that bring back nostalgia also help - play a few games, watch a few youtube vids with gameplay elements from your favourite games and try to figure out how you could emulate it in your maker - you don't have to do it, but it would help keep your mind on track.

Max McGee
with sorrow down past the fence
9159
author=Tau link=topic=3708.msg74294#msg74294 date=1241990987
Planning and prep usually help when starting something new. That way you know where your going and what to do, etc. As for sticking with it.. Take breaks every now and then from it when you get to a point of suffocation. If you keep coming up with new ideas for other games during your game at hand try incorperating some of those ideas into what your working on.

Only real thing you can do is just try keeping at it, make sure the game your making interests you and that your not just trying to show off or please others with it. Make the game for yourself is kinda what I'm saying as if it's the latter then you'll just end up like the other 80-90% of games advertised over the years.

tau...your avatar...soooo hottt...
I haven't gotten a game done yet because all this time I've been hopping between different projects and creations, until now I've finally decided that
One Solid Game >>>>>>>>>>>> A Shitton of Unfinished Games
Well I don't know if this would help you but it helps me.

I have been working on my current game/project for several months and I haven't touched RPG Maker yet as I have been in word/notepad the whole time creating the story/items/monsters/stats you name. Then I went into MS Paint and started designing the characters/monsters/items/chipsets etc now all thats left to do is to piece it together on RM2k3

Try that out sometime and you wont have a folder full of half finished games but a folder full of word documents that even if you dont start the game you can use the ideas for later projects.
author=Craze link=topic=3708.msg74477#msg74477 date=1242059391
I don't plan my games. I find that it only wastes time (hi trance <3 ).
Shhhhhhhhhhhh. *shifty eyes*

To topic, I personally find music of any kind to be my greatest inspiration for anything I do in making a game. As for work ethic... That's something that's not just a problem with me (hi craze <3) but just that I'm a sequential perfectionist, meaning if it's not perfect and done in order, I can't go on because it'd be out of order. Something I have to work on OUTSIDE of game-making.
To topic, I personally find music of any kind to be my greatest inspiration for anything I do in making a game.

Glad to know I'm not the only one. I don't know about you, but when I write a cutscene, I sometimes have a theme/song in mind for the scene before the dialogue is even finished. 8)
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